


The Snap of a Viper

by SusanShining



Series: Scars of a Child [6]
Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, NOT CASSUNZEL, but they do get to have a talk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 07:28:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28631775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SusanShining/pseuds/SusanShining
Summary: The girls have a talk. (finally)
Relationships: Cassandra & Rapunzel (Disney: Tangled)
Series: Scars of a Child [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1924363
Comments: 9
Kudos: 36





	The Snap of a Viper

**Author's Note:**

> EYO  
> I just started writing this on 12-4-20 and let’s see how long it takes to finish!  
> *only a month? dang. That felt like forever
> 
> Also- whoopee!!!! We’re getting into Cass’s character and motivations so- .forces smile. Yay! Because that’s a fun place to go and explore so- I’m gonna fail 100% and I’m not sorry because her cannon motives are really oh-no spagettios and basically a yarn ball.
> 
> So- sorry in advance Cass stans. I totally changed her personality up, but listen- this will be so much better for the story and my health if we just keep this between us okay? Shh…
> 
> Also. I’ve made a decision on how to move this next arch along! So bye-bye canon! I’m taking the wheel now!
> 
> Anyways this chapter was basically me taking a big step back to give the girls their own time in the sun because picking favorites with development time never ended well for anyone, but don’t worry, our boy will be back soon enough. I just need to take a moment to clear my head of other writing ideas so I can focus on this, which is kinda important because we're getting Rap's problems ready to get fixed and who better but Cass amiright?
> 
> So without further adieu, enjoy.
> 
> *note that this was written when I was at the bink of sleep and cannot be held accountable for anything

“You know for someone who doesn’t like being touched, you sure do like following us around.”

“As I said before, I’m here to help.”

“Common Eugene, give her a chance! She _did_ help us out back at the tree. Cassandra back me up here.”

At the comment, the warrior shrugged, wincing as it caused her hand to move. It was sure _looking_ better, thanks to the ‘not alchemy’ cream Varian had given her, but it still _hurt_. No matter how many times she tried cleaning it out it was still going to be stuck like… this. It was still going to make her training useless and weak against any foes they might come across. 

Which was why, no matter how much it pained her, they were going to need Adira.

“Eugene isn’t denying that Lance, and I’m not either, but don’t you think it’s a bit strange that she knows so much about these rocks and voodoo magic stuff?”

“It wasn’t voodoo magic-” Rapunzel jumped in. “It was Zhan Tiri remember? And the new incantation was just-”

“It controlled Hector like a puppet.” Cassandra countered, smirking a bit. “That’s what voodoo magic _is._ ”

“I-” Rapunzel stopped, then blinked. “Huh. You’re right!”

“Back to the matter at hand-” Cassandra continued. “I do think having such a formidable warrior on our side would heighten our chances of finishing this alive since _some people-”_ she pointedly looked at Shorty. “-Can’t pull their own weight.”

“Hey! I have the right to eat strawberries!” the old man at the other side of the campfire objected, causing everyone to roll their eyes as Shorty went back to petting the raccoon on his lab. “Samuel here likes it too!”

“-If it helps,” Adira finally spoke up from her place leaning against the tree. “The pieces of the scroll that you’ve been collecting? I know where one is.” she paused. “Well, at least I _think_ I do. It’s the most likely place for it to be outside of The Spire, where you’ve already been.”

“Really?” Rapunzel sounded excited, giddy even. “Well, where-”

“Hold up-” Eugene stopped her with a hand, then turned to Cassandra. “You _believe_ her?”

“Well considering she saved our butts from the rhino dude, I’d say she can join us, but on a... probation of some sort.” she shrugged, then nodded at Rapunzel’s direction, flexing her charred hand. “Besides, if it turns out to be a trap, we have a celestial entity on our side that can literally turn anything that touches her to ashes.”

The princess winced, shrinking into herself. “Cass-”

“-So is that okay with everyone?” Cass asked, mostly to Rapunzel, then Eugene. “I mean, unless you have another idea…” when Eugene didn’t say anything else, she turned again to the princess. “So since you’re in charge here, it’s up to you Raps. What’s the plan here?”

Rapunzel’s head dropped and she fiddled with her fingers, anxious under their gazes. “I… shouldn’t we ask Varian for what he thinks? I mean, he’s part of the group to-”

“Hairstripe doesn’t really care,” Lance noted helpfully. “But I’m sure with Adira’s promise of another scroll piece, he’s probably on board with Cass’s plan-”

“-Varian” Rapunzel interrupted tersely. “Can speak for himself. And since he said that he’ll need a few hours of concentration to think through the next part of the scroll, we’ll ask him at dinner. Until then… Cass and I will go looking for some supplies to repair the caravan.”

“Wait- we will?” Cassandra tensed before fiercely rubbing the cooling salve again into her charred skin.

“We will.” Rapunzel nodded firmly, leaving no room for argument.

The group exchanged considered looks before turning again to the princess. “And what will we be doing here?” Eugene asked her. “Shouldn’t we come with you in case-”

“Nope!” Rapunzel chirped, then without a second thought, she turned, lightly steering Cassandra’s shoulder out of her seat and into the forest. “Common Cass let’s go.”

\----

The forest, to be blunt, was quieter than it should have been.

There were noises, sure, and birds and critters chatting with each other, but there was a sort of… _wrongness_ to the sounds. Like they shouldn’t exist in this area. A certain void that the small chirps couldn’t fill.

Well, Cass supposed that she might as well try to fill it before things got awkward.

“Rapunzel-” she bit her lip, suddenly anxious. “I’m… sorry if I tried taking control back there. You’re the one in charge and I was undermining your authority… again.” her head lowered as she quickened her pace to keep in line with the princess. “I guess I seem to do that a lot lately…”

Rapunzel’s bare feet stopped, turning to her friend with sad, big green eyes. “Cass I… that wasn’t why I pulled you aside. You know that right?”

When the princess’ eyes pointedly lowered to Cass’s gloved hand, the warrior pursed her lips and stepped back, holding it close. “Honestly I just think we should get back to searching,” she noted. “My hand’s fine alright? Or at least… It _will_ be.”

Rapunzel blinked, then after a beat nodded slowly. “Right… right… So, um, I’m sorry that… I’m sorry about what happened in the tree.” she shuffled her bare feet, kicking up some dirt into a tiny pile. “I… was trying to save everyone, but I guess it was too much of me to ask you to stay away.”

Cassandra smoldered a flinch at the hardness in the last statement and felt her expression harden. “What, so it’s my fault-?”

“-NO!” Rapunzel blurted out, hands flying forward and eyes wide open before she quickly composed herself, but some last traces of panic still remained. “It… it wasn’t your fault you got hurt alright? I- I swear that wasn’t what I was trying to imply I just-” she sighed, hands coming up to grip her hair. “I’m sorry, it’s just… a bit hard for me to phrase this, but… you shouldn’t have come back for me.” she held up a hand, silencing Cassandra when the woman opened her mouth to protest. “Yeah, the incantation was dangerous, but that was what I decided and it _worked_ . And it _was_ working- and yeah, maybe I shouldn’t have done it for fear of losing control, but I guess what I’m trying to say is… when I _do_ lose control, it’s not _me_ that’s in danger. It’s you, and Eugene, and Lance, and Varian, and everyone that’s in the area.” 

She paused, taking in a deep breath. “So… next time- not that I _want_ there to be a next time- I need you to take care of yourself, and not try and save the girl with magic unbreakable hair, because let me assure you, at that moment, I’m the last one that’s in danger of _anything._ ”

Rapunzel stopped, raising her eyes to read Cass’s reaction, but the warrior was almost expressionless, avoiding Rapunzel’s gaze and the princess opened her mouth to try again.

“Cass-”

“-It’s why I trust Adira.” the woman blurted out, snapping her lips shut when she realized what she had just said, but hesitantly opening them to begin explaining. “You- you and I are basically the group’s main line of defense and keep in mind that your powers are extremely unstable, not to mention my hand-” she paused, flexing her fingers to test them as she spoke. “Adira… you’ve seen her right? I reckon she could take down an entire squadron without even breaking a sweat- not to mention her sword- she’s a one-person army in herself, and we’re… we’re defenseless without her-”

“-that’s not true!” Rapunzel interrupted. “We have Eugene, and the horses, and Lance, and Varian, and-”

Cassandra stopped her, listing each member off on her fingers. “The horses have to pull the carriage, Lance is too big and clumsy, Pascal and Ruddiger have nothing against bigger foes, Eugene’s mind is too focused on protecting everyone he can’t focus on protecting himself, Shorty’s- well, Shorty, and Varian…” her voice trailed off, mind going distant. “Well, you know… the kid’s basically a kitten.”

“That’s not fair!” Rapunzel went on the defensive. “Varian’s just as useful as the rest of us-”

“I didn’t say he wasn’t useful,” Cassandra spoke calmly, but she herself couldn’t keep the defensive edge to her voice out no matter how hard she tried. “But… the kid’s not the best choice in a fight alright?”

Rapunzel still shook her head, almost confused. “What are you talking about? He’s gotten us out of plenty of situations before- not to mention his alchemy! We just… haven’t been able to get him any chemicals to work with!”

“Raps…” Cassandra’s face softened into a regretful look, hesitating only a moment before speaking again. “When was the last time you saw Varian actually excited about anything even related to alchemy? I… even when he made the salve for my hand he actively protested about it ‘not being alchemy,’ like he was more trying to convince himself than me.” she frowned, wrapping her arms around herself when Rapunzel still didn’t speak. “He’s _avoiding_ it. And I think that everyone in the group knows that my dad had something- had _done_ something to cause that.”

When Cassandra paused, letting that sink in, Rapunzel stared in shock and confusion at her. Had Cassandra really kept this in for the past six months? But quickly shook herself out of it and jumped to reassure her friend. “Cass it wasn’t the Captain’s fault- he- _my dad_ made him do it alright? The Captain… he was just following the king’s orders! I wasn’t wrong of him to do his job-”

“-But it is!” Cassandra interrupted her, visibly frustrated. Whether it was at the princess or something else Rapunzel didn’t know, but it was… scary seeing her friend like this. “He had the entire Corona military on his side! There wasn’t a _single knight_ in there that didn’t want to stop, and yet _nobody did anything_!!” 

She huffed, beginning to list off names on her fingers. “Not Adam, or Joseph, or Nathan, or Arthur or Daniel or Issac or even Michael! Raps I grew up with these people. They’re great guys! They were basically brothers to me. Really was a shame that in the end they- they weren’t any different from criminals working under a _crime boss._ ” she hissed out the last part, expression enraged as she turned away from the princess. “Yeah, they might’ve been _ordered_ to do it, but they weren’t _forced_ into it.”

Rapunzel paused at this, stepping away the tiniest bit, but otherwise held Cassandra’s angry gaze. She had to keep telling herself that Cassandra wasn’t angry at her-she _wasn’t-_ it was just… it was something difficult she was dealing with. But how to help if she couldn’t switch the blame?

Unless...

“Well, you saw what the king did to Varian…” she hesitantly notes. “Who’s to say they weren’t threatened with the same treatment? They- they could’ve been _scared_ or-”

“Rapunzel _don’t-_ ” Cass stopped her. “You don’t- you shouldn’t make excuses for them Raps. They made their choice, Varian suffered, and now… I don’t know what to think of them anymore. I don’t know what to think of my _dad_ anymore. I- I don’t even know why I’m telling you this.” she said, folding her arms with her back still turned to Rapunzel as she strode away, moving to sit on a nearby log. 

“It’s not like you could help with my dad being a terrible person- you couldn’t even help _yourself_ with your dad being a terrible person. I guess it’s just… I thought my emotions would fade out over time, but throughout all these months it’s never stopped… being there.” she hesitated. “And... I guess I haven’t said anything because… a part of me wants to blame _Varian_ for it.”

“ _What-_ ” Rapunzel blurted out, feeling a flash of anger inside. “Cassandra you can’t really be serious-”

“-I know!” Cassandra snapped, bristling before she realized who she was talking to, and tried to calm down. “I… I _know_ it’s not right of me to blame Varian- which is why I didn’t say anything!” she sighed. “I _know_ it’s not reasonable to blame him. It- It’s not his fault he got hurt but- he _did_ mess with the rocks- which the king specifically asked to be left alone-”

“But we told him to remember?” Rapunzel cut in some-what bitterly. “He was just trying to help-!”

“-Then he attacked and tried forcing you to help him during the _worst time possible-_ ”

“-He didn’t attack me! He was asking for help and-”

“-He barged into the room, grabbed your shoulders, and _shouted_ at you!” Cassandra snapped back, trying to calm down but ultimately failing. “You can believe it or not but that could be considered _treason_ if you chose to press charges-”

“What?” Rapunzel bristled. “So you’re saying that he _deserved_ to have his voice taken away? That he _deserved_ to be torn apart and hurt?”

“If that’s really what you think- then I’m not really sure you’ve been paying attention.” Cassandra stood up, reeling around at the princess and fixing at her with a glare as she pointed an accusing finger at her friend.“ _I’m saying that our fathers had reasons to do what they did!”_

The princess stared in shock and stepped back, away from Cassandra’s form which was practically shaking with fury. When Cassandra noticed this, her expression turned to horror, and backed away, quickening to force an apology out.

“I- I’m sorry Princess I shouldn’t have- I guess I’ve just been-”

“-silent for too long?” Rapunzel joined her in finishing it. When Cassandra blinked in confusion the princess smiled sadly at her, then turned solemn. 

“I’m sorry for pushing you and snapping back when you were trying to explain what you were feeling. And… I- I guess that’s why I don’t like it when you hide things and keep them inside.” Rapunzel admitted quietly, rubbing the back of her neck almost sheepishly. “When you don’t talk about what your feelings are, it becomes almost like a balloon, trying to hold hot air inside and slowly growing bigger and bigger until it pops. Then when it does, both it and the people around it are hurt by the consequences. And no matter how much you want to, the balloon can’t be fixed.”

Rapunzel met Cassandra’s gaze, smile a little more accepting. “You’re left wishing that you’d emptied the balloon before, letting the hot air out slower but… there’s no turning back time.” she sighed, looking down at the ground as she started drawing a circle in the dirt again. 

“It happened to me once… moving into the castle. I know my mom and dad _tried_ making things easier, but I guess 18 years was a long time for them to think of exactly what I would be like. Then… they wanted me to fit into what _they_ thought I should be. When they looked at Rapunzel they saw instead Sandria del Flores.” she let out a soft, almost humorous laugh that was more of a scoff. “I tried convincing myself that it’d stop after a while, but then… when it was a few weeks later I just… snapped. Ended up ripping open my mother’s old picnic dress.”

She kicked a pebble. “And… after that, I realized how dangerous keeping things inside was to both you and the people you care about. And… I guess that’s why I don’t like you keeping things from me. And now… I see how pushy and demanding I was being, and for that, I apologize.” she paused, biting her lip. “I… I’m _worried_ about you Cass. And I really _do_ want to help. I want to be someone you can confide in. I want to learn to be… a _good_ _queen_. _Not_ my dad. I don’t want people to hide their true feelings about how I’m doing things because they think I’ll… I don’t- I would never-” she sighed again. “I need people to tell me when I’m doing things wrong. I need _you_ to tell me when I’m doing things wrong.”

She looked up at Cassandra, gaze almost pleading. “And… I need to learn to listen to people when they do. I don’t want to shut people down because I’m doing what I think is best.” she let out a small scoff. “On the day of the blizzard, my father said that ‘many voices will demand to be heard, but the voice in your heart is the one you should follow.’ Crazy right? And that was right before he sent a kid into the dungeons because he wanted to run from his problems. He wanted _me_ to run from _my_ problems and label that as my ‘only choice.’ He wanted me to learn to follow in his footsteps. Be _him_. And… I almost _was_.”

“I… I _ignored_ Varian and the black rocks. I ignored my kingdom’s pleas for help in favor of preventing my emotional and physical labor. _I_ chose to listen to my father. And look what happened.” the admission was almost inaudible, barely a murmur, but Rapunzel still stood her ground. “So now I stand before you, ready to listen. Ready to stand and face anything that I need to hear. Anything that _you_ need to say.”

Cassandra let out a long breath. “Are you sure Raps?”

“I want the full truth. Don’t hold back.”

“Your mind sugarcoats things.” Cassandra started. “You always look on the bright side even when what’s going on is too serious to ignore. You lazer-focus on anything that comforts your mind and it allows everything that might upset you to fade away into the background. It lets it feature and be ignored until it comes to bite you, and you're surprised when it does.”

Rapunzel swallowed, her throat feeling dry. She wanted to defend herself, to run and hide away. Wanted to snap back and show that Cass was _wrong_. But she held back and continued to remind herself that she _asked_ for this. _Be better._

“Again.”

“You make excuses for people who don’t deserve them. You don’t understand that it doesn’t matter what their reasons were, their actions still affect other people and you find it in yourself to defend them, even though what they did had nothing to do to you.”

Rapunzel winced but nodded. “Alright. Anything else?”

“You always seem to think that your help is what people need. You shove yourself into their problems and label yourself their savior. Then chose to abandon it when things go wrong.”

That one felt like a slap to her face, even causing her to physically take a step back. “I… I didn’t-.”

“You get other people to take care of your problems. Even now, you asked me to tell you what you're doing wrong instead of figuring out yourself. You take people and put them in front of you like a shield so you don’t have to face things.”

“Cass I- I don’t-”

“You’re biased. You give anyone who benefits you a second chance, but if they aren’t friendly to you, you cast them aside. You pick others to do the labor to fix their lives and then swoop in and expect to take the credit. You find an imbalance between talking and action. Making promises you won't complete if it turns hard, but push yourself in situations that don’t have anything to do with you. But when they do, you only act when it fits your needs and wants.”

Rapunzel practically _shriveled_ under the words. A part of Cassandra wanted to stop before the last thing came out, but Rapunzel _wanted_ this. She _needed_ to hear it.

“You can’t see your flaws even if they’re screaming in your face. You can only see yourself as the only light in the room. Anything that shows you how imperfect you are, you flee away from and deny. You think as the sundrop that makes you perfect, inhuman even. You think yourself invincible, impossible to beat. Even now, after _you asked_ I list off your imperfections, you think that this can’t possibly be you. That if this was what you did, you can’t fix anything, but you continue to forget you’re still _human_.”

Rapunzel was sitting now, on the log when Cassandra knelt down next to her. 

“I… I really _am_ just _terrible_ aren’t I? And… I’m going to keep being terrible. This is hopeless. I’m going to become just like my dad and I’m- I’m gonna- I’m going to be horrible and everyone will hate me and-” the princess sniffed, wiping her eyes. The princess looked so… small like this. But sometimes people just needed to be kicked down a notch to grow into something greater. Something _better_.

At least that was what they told her. Cassandra couldn’t stop the touch of guilt for continuing to follow those coward's words even after what they did.

“Raps- no. you aren’t terrible _or_ hopeless. You have a rough start to be on, that’s _all,_ alright?” Cassandra began and went on as the princess looked up at her hopefully. “But… if I’m telling the truth, you… _have_ been getting better- in a way.”

Rapunzel looked up, eyes glistening with trust. “R-really? You- you can fix me?”

Cassandra shook her head. “No… that’s not my job. Remember? You need to fix your own problems, not leaving them to someone else to clean up. Don’t worry- we’ll help you on the way, but… you need to mold yourself into something better but you still need to be... _you_. Does that make sense?”

Rapunzel pursed her lips, expression a bit perplexed but she still nodded slowly after a bit. “Yeah… I think I get it- you’ll tell me if I’m messing up again though right?”

Cassandra made a so-so gesture with her hand, a bit hesitant to promise anything. “Well, I think you shouldn’t be too reliant on other people pointing out what your doing, but I’ll talk to Eugene and we can help you out with the start, but over time I think you need to be looking out for the signs, but remember- what I’ve said is probably just what I’ve seen yeah? You need to keep a watchful eye on anything you could be better at. Evaluate yourself. Don’t rely on others too much, but don’t be afraid to ask for help from me and Eugene if you need it alright? Our advice might not be the best, but it could help. Heck, you could probably ask Varian for help if you-”

“-No!” Rapunzel cried out, eyes wide and alarmed. “I- I can’t bring him into my problems again alright?”

Cassandra frowned. “Raps it wouldn’t hurt him to ask a few simple questions-”

“No.” Rapunzel stopped her firmly, and Cassandra allowed herself to nod at the rejection. If Rapunzel didn’t want to talk to Varian, that would be fine. It wouldn’t cause any harm yet, but she made a mental note to help her princess get more comfortable with trusting that Varian could handle more. He wasn’t a fragile vase- well, mentally wise- no. Mentally wise at the _moment._ That could change drastically fast, but it would probably be better for everyone to warm up to him while he’s in a firmer state.

 _Hypocrite_. A voice hissed at her. _Can’t even follow your own advice_.

Ignoring that for the moment, she pushed herself up, offering a hand to Rapunzel, who took gladly. “Common, we still have some parts to look for, yeah?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm taking a brief hiatus for this series. I have a story-line planned out but I'm having trouble finding the energy to write it atm. Yes, I want to write the rest of it, but I have other things I want to write as well and I'd like to do things for that too, and if I don't end up finishing it... sorry? But thank you for your patience. X3

**Author's Note:**

> For some reason I always have the feeling that my writing style is a bit rushed but bravo to you for finishing! Yay...


End file.
